just wondering, if anyone has translated the GPL and MySQL AB legalese
into real-world scenarios. it seems unclear what ‘derivative’ or
‘linked’ or ‘distribute’ means - how much IPC or TCP traffic do you need
before two components are as ‘linked’ in terms of functionality as a
dynamically loaded library? if you are distributing your app over HTTP
to users, could you be faced with sticking to an old version of MySQL or
switching to Postgres to avoid future licensing fees?
0x00 an online invoicing system with a monthly and/or volume-based
subscription fee, using mysql for data storage
0x01 a private intranet created for a company’s internal use. for
convenience (and no desire to wast time figuring out how to ‘obfuscate’
ruby code) the source is provided. as with 0x00, mysql is not modified
in any way…
the second one seems a bit more vague - perhaps youre not distributing
mysql with the app, if they have a server to run on it and ‘apt-get
install mysql’ on their own. from an essence standpoint, if i was a fan
of MySQL i would proably buy a license in either case, unless the
company was a non-profit and strapped for cash, but considering how many
times ive had to repair corrupt tables in the past and had interface
libraries randomly break with version upgrades im looking around - maybe
postgres is better in this regard…